The Journey : Chapter One
by thatbunneegirl
Summary: Ophelia, a promising Pokemon trainer, spends a few hours before work tanning on the beach when a friend from her past shows back up in her life. She is torn between feelings of joy and hurt due to the way he left a year ago. Why has he returned, and how does Ophelia really feel about it?


A Pokémon Fanfiction

The Journey

"There are many paths, but only one journey." Naomi Judd

Chapter One

An Old Friend

It was a magnificent summer day. The sky was such a bright, beautiful blue. There wasn't a single cloud to be seen anywhere. Birds drifted leisurely on the gentle ocean breeze. It was the middle of summer, but the temperature was just right. Not too hot, and not cold either. Ophelia was spread out on a rainbow-colored plastic lounging beach chair. She was wearing a bright pink strapless bikini and a large straw hat with large framed sunglasses. The sound of music streamed out of her ear buds. There were a few young children splashing around at the water's edge; they were being watched by their dutiful parents. A Growlithe laid with the adults. It watched the children longingly. A large burley Grandbull lazily lounged at the foot of the chair. The day could not have been more perfect even if Ophelia had tried.

The sound of sand being crunched beneath the weight of someone's feet alerted the Grandbull to someone's approach. It lifted its head from the ground and let out a snort. Ophelia, alerted by the sudden movement of her Pokémon, pulled her ear bud from her ear.

"What is it?" she asked but was greeted by a friend from her past. "Peter, is that you?"

How to describe Peter? Peter and Ophelia were childhood friends. In fact, they had practically been in diapers together. The Peter that Ophelia used to know was a sweet boy from a middle-class family. He had manners that would make anyone smile just by talking to him. Though he was a little scrawny, he was cute in that boy-next-door kind of way. He had green eyes and soft brown hair that he was always brushing out of his face. He was a little too pale and still looked like a boy.

That wasn't the Peter that Ophelia was looking at now. This Peter was handsome and well-built. It looked like he'd spent the last year that he'd been gone working out every single day. He even sported a decent tan. His hair was now combed back and held in place with a pony tail. The underside of his hair was shaved. Now, he looked like the kind of man that would be on the cover of a surfer magazine.

Slowly, Ophelia stood from where she had been laying. Standing there, a whirlwind of emotions washed over her.

First, she was ecstatic. She was a child standing in a candy store. All the good memories rushed back, and it was almost as if he had never left. Almost. Then, she remembered the night he left. All those painful memories came rushing back. She wanted to hug him; she wanted to slap him. Ophelia was conflicted about what to do.

"Hello Bunny," he greeted her, and she knew what she was going to do. She walked up to him and hugged him with as much grace as she could muster. Hugging him felt like hugging a rock, but it felt good. Excited to see an old friend, Grandbull danced around them.

After several pregnant minutes, she let him go. Though everything inside of her fought against her.

"When did you get back to town? How did you know I was down here?" She decided those were the two most reasonable questions. Oh, she had a lot of questions she wanted to ask, but she figured some questions were better left unanswered.

Peter looked down at his watch.

"Just about an hour ago," he answered, "and Pops told me you were down here." By Pops, he meant her grandfather.

Ophelia rolled her eyes in a playful sort of way. "I guess you've been to the diner then?"

"Guilty. I love how they've remodeled the place."

She shrugged. "They're pretty proud of it."

"I can see why."

Then, as if suddenly struck, Ophelia realized she'd lost track of time.

"Oh shoot." She grabbed her phone from the beach chair. "It's time to get back to the café." She started throwing her stuff into the open bag sitting next to the chair.

"Let me walk you back?" Peter offered as she slipped her feet into her flip-flops.

. . . . .

The two walked back up the beach together. Grandbull prowled a few feet in front of them like a watchful guardian. Peter's hands were shoved into the pockets of his shorts. Ophelia found it so easy for things to fall back into place. It was almost like he had never left in the first place

"He sure looks nice," he mentioned watching the loyal Pokémon, "You really did a great job training him."

Ophelia smiled. She remembered the days when her beloved Pokémon was still a Snubull. They were much younger then.

Ophelia stopped walking. They'd arrived at her grandparent's café, but Peter hadn't noticed yet. He was too busy reminiscing.

"He really missed you." She didn't want to admit the seemingly countless hours that Grandbull sat at the window searching for his friend. Thinking about it always brought that familiar ache back to her heart.

She placed her hand on Grandbull's head. Her Pokémon looked up at her with understanding eyes. He understood her hurt. They had grieved for a long time together.

Peter didn't respond. He already knew his departure had caused a lot of pain. There was a part of him that desperately wanted to apologize, but he couldn't apologize for doing what was best for him; what he thought was right.

"Well, this is where I stop," Ophelia said motioning to the diner. The realization struck him that he hadn't noticed where they were standing. Then, he felt silly for missing it.

"Do you think I can see you again?" He was hoping she would say yes, but honestly, he wasn't sure. He could see the confliction in her eyes. She wanted to, but she didn't want to face having to watch him leave again. Was coming back the right thing? Neither of them knew the answer to that one.

"Okay. I get off at nine. Be here then?"

Peter smiled a wide, Cheshire grin.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."

He watched Ophelia push open the door to let Grandbull in. Grandbull cast a glance at Peter over his shoulder and let out a soft whine. Then, she too disappeared into the building.


End file.
